


A Husky and a Cardinal

by osaycanyousolo



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 03:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5075302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/osaycanyousolo/pseuds/osaycanyousolo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope and Kelley watch the Washington vs Stanford college football game together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Husky and a Cardinal

            All eyes turned Kelley’s way as she sauntered into the dining room for dinner decked out in Cardinal red. She casually strolled toward the buffet table, trying to maintain her nonchalance and failing. A ghost of a smile threatened at the corners of her lips as she nodded hello to Alex and Tobin. She filled her plate and made her way to the open seat on Alex’s left. She set her plate down on the table and looked straight up into the steel blue eyes of Hope Solo. Kelley’s eyes sparkled in instigation as her shit-eating grin lit up her face. She attempted to swallow her laughter as she sat down.

            “So that’s how it’s gonna be huh?” Hope asked her, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

            “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Kelley said, raising her eyebrows while she picked up her fork.

            Hope shook her head and unzipped her hoodie. She shrugged out of it, revealing a purple Huskies t-shirt. Kling “oohed” from a few seats down and a hush took over their table. “Oh you don’t huh? That’s a nice jersey you have there,” Hope commented, raising a slender eyebrow.

            “Pretty cool right? It’s even got my name on it,” Kelley said, taking a bite of her dinner.

            “What’s going on?” Moe whispered to Kling.

            Kling smirked and replied, “I think Stanford is playing Washington tonight.”

            “Mhm,” Alex confirmed. “Stay back you guys.”

            “Don’t fuck with me O’Hara. This is serious,” Hope nearly growled.

            “Oh, I’m serious Solo. Your little pups are going down,” Kelley replied calmly, sipping from her water glass.

            “Who is your roommate?” Hope asked.

            “Kling,” Kelley told her.

            “Hey Carl?” Hope called, her eyes still locked with Kelley’s.

            “Yeah?” Carli replied hesitantly.

            “You’re with Kling tonight,” Hope said matter of factly.

            “Oh come on!” interjected Kling. “She’s going to freeze out the bath tub!”

            “You know that’s right,” Carli said with a smile. “I’m going to bed early too.”

            “Aw man!” Kling complained. “Moe, can I bunk with you?”

            “No,” Morgan and her roommate JJ replied in unison.

            “Damnit you guys,” Kling muttered. “Fucking college football.”

            “Well that settles it,” Hope said, rising from the table. “See you in my room at 10:30 Stanford.”

            “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Kelley responded with an exaggerated wink. Hope shook her head and retreated toward the door.

            “Why do you enjoy antagonizing her?” Alex asked.

            “Cuz it’s fun. You just gotta pick the things she loves most and she can’t help herself. It’s a riot,” Kelley replied with a laugh.

            “Do you even know who plays for Stanford?” Press asked.

            “Um yeah, we met them last week!” Kelley scoffed.

            “Yeah for like five seconds and then we just walked around taking pictures with everyone,” Press pointed out.

            “Psh! I was paying attention!” Kelley replied, blowing off Press’ accusatory tone.

            “Ok, who won?” Press pressed.

            “We did of course,” Kelley replied with a smile.

            “Ok, who’d we play,” she asked, eyebrow raised.

            “Syd and Cheney’s shitty Bruins,” Kelley said, focusing on eating and studiously ignoring the exasperated look Christen was giving her.

            “Ok, fine, what was the score?” Press inquired with an exasperated sigh.

            “I don’t know, 50 something to something,” Kelley responded with an eye roll. “Done with the inquisition?”

            “Yes fine. Just don’t embarrass me with your lack of football knowledge,” Press said, turning back to her own plate.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kelley told her with a smile.

***

            Kelley knocked on Hope’s door at 10:29. She heard Hope’s footfalls pad toward the door and disengage the lock. Hope opened the door wearing her UW t-shirt and her signature clenched jaw. Kelley offered Hope a pleasant smile in return. Hope rolled her eyes in greeting and held the door open for Kelley to walk through. Kelley thanked her and swaggered into the room ahead of Hope. She purposefully plopped down on the slightly ruffled bed, knowing it was Hope’s.

            “Why are you sitting on my bed?” Hope asked, hands on her hips.

            “Oh this is your bed? I couldn’t tell,” Kelley said, scooting back to lean against the headboard.

            “You’re impossible,” Hope muttered, making herself comfortable on Carli’s bed.

            “I heard that!” Kelley scowled in Hope’s direction.

            “You were meant to,” Hope responded, looking at the TV. The game was just beginning and Washington was preparing to kick off. Kelley snorted in response and turned her attention to the game. Truth be told, Press was right. Kelley hadn’t followed much Stanford football since she went there. She paid enough attention to tease her teammates, but she barely knew anyone on the team. The game last week had been a lot of fun, mostly because she drank beer and took pictures throughout the whole thing.

            “Hey, I’m really surprised you are staying up late for this,” Kelley said as Stanford began their first drive.

            Hope waited a beat before answering, “Well I’m not playing tomorrow so I figured I might as well watch it live. What’s your excuse?”

            “Same,” Kelley said, picking at her sweatpants.

            Hope nodded and turned back to the TV. Kelley smiled when Hope suddenly burst into a fit of yelling at her Husky defense. Kelley clapped in response to the 15 yard rushing play. Two plays later Stanford scored on a 21 yard passing play to the tight end. Kelley jumped up on the bed in celebration as Hope let out a strangled, “God fucking damnit!”

            “Seven-oh baby, yeah! Way to go boys!” Kelley shouted, flopping back down on the bed.

            “Do you even know who’s on your team?” Hope asked, exasperation lacing the question.

            “Of course I do! I met them last week! They’re nice boys,” Kelley said, scowling in Hope’s direction.

            “Ok, who’s your quarterback?” Hope asked.

            “Kevin!” Kelley exclaimed.

            “What’s his last name?” Hope probed, head tilted in doubt.

            “Something manly, I’m sure,” Kelley replied, offering Hope a dazzling smile.

            Hope rolled her eyes in response and said, “Hogan. His name is Kevin Hogan. You only remembered that his name is Kevin because that’s what your little Aussie friends call you.”

            “See? I told you it was manly! Hey! How do you know they call me Kevin?” Kelley asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “Because it’s all over your Instagram?” Hope replied, her voice rising slightly in question. Maybe Kelley was imagining it, but she could have sworn Hope’s cheeks had pinked slightly in response to her question. She thought on that as Hope’s Huskies punted the ball.

            “So,” Kelley started after a period of quiet muttering from Hope.

            “Yeah?” Hope asked when Kelley didn’t respond right away.

            “You’re really into this football stuff aren’t you?” Kelley inquired, watching as the Cardinal were stopped on third down.

            “Yeah, I guess” Hope said shrugging, her eyes still glued to the TV.

            “So do you always yell at the TV and mutter cuss words during football games?” Kelley asked innocently.

            Hope shot her a death glare. “You can go anytime,” Hope said.

            “No, no, no. I didn’t mean it as insulting! I’m just asking. Peeling back the layers of the Solo onion,” Kelley responded quickly.

            “Do you even like football?” Hope asked, pulling her attention away from the TV.

            “Yeah, it’s a good time,” Kelley replied with a smile.

            “Oh my god O’Hara. You fucking kill me,” Hope muttered, her attention returning to the TV. “For fuck’s sake,” she muttered as the Huskies punted again.

            “What?” Kelley asked innocently.

            “You don’t even like football and you’re here just to harass me aren’t you?” Hope stated, annoyance clear in her tone.

            Kelley suppressed a laugh. “I like football! There’s beer and grown men slamming into each other. What’s not to like?”

            “Just make my life easier and go,” Hope pleaded.

            “Hey you invited me! And I do so like football, I’ve even been to an NFL game,” Kelley said, crossing her arms and burrowing herself further into Hope’s bed.

            “Yeah for the first time last Sunday,” Hope pointed out.

            “Hey I’ve been rooting for the Niners since I went to Stanford thank you very much,” Kelley retorted, knowing that mentioning Hope’s most hated football team would get a reaction out of her.

            She was rewarded when Hope turned and her and glared, “Unfuckingbelievable by the way. I have invited you to at least three Seahawks games and you’ve decline.”

            “Hey what can I say, I can’t stand your Seachickens,” Kelley shrugged. Hope grabbed one of Carli’s pillows and threw it at Kelley. Kelley batted it away with a laugh. Her attention was directed back to the TV as Stanford got close to the goal line with a big run near the end of the first half. Hope didn’t respond to Kelley’s taunt as she leaned forward and bit her thumbnail nervously.

            Kelley lifted her arms in triumph and let out a loud, “Wooo!” as the Cardinal running back crossed the goal line for the second touchdown. Hope groaned and covered her face with her hands. Kelley turned to Hope after the extra point and taunted, “That’s right puppy! Fourteen to nothing baby! That’s my trees!”

            “Jesus fucking Christ, your mascot is a tree!” Hope lamented, putting her hands on the top of her head in exasperation.

            “Not just any tree, a really ugly tree. And technically, the tree is the band’s mascot, not Stanford’s. Our mascot is just the color,” Kelley lectured.

            “Seriously Stanford? Why can’t you guys just be normal?” Hope asked with a pained sigh.

            “Like how? Have an actual mascot? Would you rather us be the banana slugs?” Kelley questioned with a chuckle through her nose.

            “Banana slugs? Are you serious?” Hope inquired, tilting her head in disbelief.

            “Yeah. UC Santa Cruz’s mascot is the banana slug,” Kelley said shrugging.

            “Wha-, uh, how do you know this?” Hope asked, eyebrows still knit in confusion.

            “I don’t know, some dude I knew in one of the frats was from there and he told me once. The banana slug even wears glasses,” Kelley told her.

            “Dear god, what is wrong with the Bay Area?” Hope muttered, leaning back into Carli’s pillows.

            “Hey! There is nothing wrong with the Bay Area! Just because it doesn’t need to have everything be neon green and outdoorsy doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it!” Kelley argued, defending her college region.

            “Yeah ok, Whiner lover,” Hope said. “You just like them because of Harbaugh.”

            “Excuse you! Harbaugh isn’t even there anymore and why would I give my allegiance to a coach?” Kelley scoffed, leaning forward to scowl once again at the goalkeeper.

            Hope ignored her and shouted at the TV as the Huskies were stopped on third down again. She grumbled as Washington had to punt in the second quarter.

            “By your definition shouldn’t I also be rooting for the Colts and your cheating Seachickens?” Kelley said, waiting until Hope had finished muttering at the TV.

            “Say it again,” Hope challenged, turning to Kelley with a glare.

            “Seachickens,” Kelley stated clearly.

            “I’m warning you,” Hope said, leaning forward from the headboard.

            “Fucking. Sea. Chickens,” Kelley enunciated each word clearly, with a devilish smirk. Hope jumped off the bed with a speed Kelley didn’t know she possessed and landed on the defender before she had a chance to flee. Hope pinned Kelley down with her strong legs and began tickling her. Kelley squealed in response and wriggled beneath Hope’s firm grasp. “Ok! Ok! OK!!” Kelley yelled between shrieks.

            “Say you’re sorry!” Hope warned as she held Kelley down.

            “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! You know I don’t actually care. Oh my god stop,” Kelley rushed out, breathless from squealing. Hope nodded and climbed off Kelley. She slid her body toward the edge of the bed and Kelley grabbed her arm. Kelley took a breath and said, “Stay.”

            Hope looked back at her as Kelley let go of her arm and scooted to make room for Hope on the bed. Hope paused briefly and swallowed. She met Kelley’s eyes and nodded. Hope scooted her body so she was leaning up against the headboard, the pillow against her back still warm from Kelley’s body. Kelley tried not to think about Hope’s shoulder, which was within a hair’s breadth of her own.

            Kelley barely breathed a word for the rest of the half. She reveled in the nearness of Hope Solo, something she’d found herself thinking about a lot lately. She couldn’t tell if Hope felt the sudden tension in the room or if it was just in Kelley’s head. She tried to ignore the growing desire to curl into Hope’s side. That was something that hadn’t happened in a long time.

            “Fucking A,” Hope breathed as Stanford kicked a field goal just before halftime to make it 17-0. Kelley clapped politely when the kicker put it through the uprights.

            “Did you know Andrew Luck?” Hope asked randomly as the game went to commercial.

            “Um kinda, I mean I met him a few times, but he was younger than me so we didn’t go there together for very long,” Kelley explained, lifting her eyes up to the ceiling in thought. “Now Richard Sherman, there was a douchebag if I ever met one.”

            “Really?” Hope asked, turning toward the younger woman.

            Kelley laughed, “Yeah I don’t know actually. I think I met him twice, both times at parties if I am remembering correctly. The football players all hung out together and didn’t have time for anyone else. There were like a thousand rules about where they could go and what they could do so they didn’t mingle much with us lowly soccer players. He just sounds like a douche on TV.”

            “Hm,” Hope breathed as she pondered Kelley’s words. “You do know that the Seahawks just beat the hell out of the Niners on Thursday right?”

            “Yes,” Kelley replied simply.

            “If you are such a big fan don’t you care?” Hope teased, elbowing Kelley playfully in the ribs.

            “I’m pretty sure we established that I am a casual fan and that the game that I went to, where they won by the way, was the first game I’ve ever gone to. You can’t turn down box seats,” Kelley pointed out, crossing her arms to rub at the spot where Hope’s touch still lingered.

            “Oh ok. Was the stadium nice at least?” Hope asked curiously.

            “That’s an understatement. Stanford’s box was ridiculously stocked and we had free food and drinks the whole game. Everything was all shiny and high tech. They have this huge club level for the boxes that is so fancy they have weddings there,” Kelley told her excitedly.

            “Wow, interesting. Did you wear a jersey?” Hope asked, feigning disinterest.

            “Oh my god, can’t you get over the fact that I’m going to choose the Niners over the Seahawks?” Kelley asked, nudging her with her shoulder.

            “But then I would have to admit that you’re an idiot and I’m not sure I want to do that with someone who is on my backline,” Hope teased.

            “Rude!” Kelley exclaimed, scooting away from Hope.

            “Aw, I was just kidding! Come back,” Hope said, holding her arm out in invitation. Without thinking, Kelley scooted back over and nestled into Hope’s side. She tried not to think about where she was sitting and how comfortable she felt in Hope’s embrace.

            “Go, go, go!” Hope encourage with her free hand as the Huskies returned the second half kickoff to Stanford’s 43 yard line. Kelley smiled at Hope’s enthusiasm and even uttered a groan as Washington scored five plays later. As Hope raised her hands and cheered, Kelley moved to pull away. Hope’s arm came back down around her and pulled her in for a hug. “It’s a game now Stanford!”

            “Seventeen to seven isn’t necessarily a game,” Kelley pointed out, pretending to pout as she nestled back into Hope’s side.

            “Hey a girl can hope,” Hope replied with a smile.

            “Hope can hope huh?” Kelley snorted.

            “Are you going to do that every time?” Hope asked rolling her eyes.

            “Of course. Would you expect anything less?” Kelley asked innocently.

            “No Kell. I would not,” Hope breathed, her voice lowering. It sent a shiver up Kelley’s spine. She swallowed, trying not to think about the shiver and Hope’s arm around her shoulders and Hope’s body up against hers and thumping of her heart in her chest.

            _Oh god, what am I doing?_ Kelley asked herself. She took a deep breath and tried to turn her attention back to the game. She felt Hope’s body start to relax into her own, fatigue setting in for the both of them. Kelley watched as Stanford marched down the field to score an answering touchdown. She closed her eyes as Stanford went up 24-7.

***

            Sometime in the middle of the third quarter Hope noticed Kelley’s body relax and her breathing slow into sleep. She looked down at the defender to see her eyes closed and a hint of a smile on her lips. Hope found herself smiling and gently kissed the top of the younger woman’s head.

            Hope watched the game alone, quietly muttering to herself so as to not wake the sleeping Kelley in her arms. She groaned audibly when Stanford scored again near the end of the third quarter. Kelley stirred as Hope reached over to grab the remote. “Hey what are you doing?” she muttered sleepily.

            “You guys scored again. It’s 31 to 7. We’re going to bed,” Hope replied turning off the TV.

            “Ok,” Kelley murmured, closing her eyes again.

            “Hey, take off your jersey,” Hope said, pulling away from the defender.

            “Uh….. what?” Kelley asked, confused and groggy.

            “You can’t sleep in that jersey and I know you have a shirt on underneath. So take off your jersey,” Hope directed as if talking to a small child.

            “What if I didn’t?” Kelley asked sitting up and reaching for the hem of her jersey.

            “Didn’t what?” Hope asked.

            “Have a shirt on under my jersey,” Kelley replied innocently, still only partially awake.

            Hope paused and glared at her. Kelley offered a mischievous smile in return and peeled off her jersey, revealing a Stanford shirt underneath. “You’re impossible,” Hope muttered.

            Hope slid off the bed and pulled the covers back for Kelley. Wordlessly Kelley slid underneath and wriggled into a comfortable position. Hope smiled at Kelley’s sleepy form and turned off the lamp on the bedside table. She found herself struggling with which bed to turn to. She stood there for a second, wondering if she should allow herself to give into the impulse, the same impulse that encouraged her to wrap her arm around Kelley’s shoulders.

            Hope pulled open the covers of her own bed and slid in next to Kelley, who grunted in surprise and moved over to make room. “What are you doing?” Kelley whispered.

            “Sleeping in my bed,” Hope whispered back. “Is there a problem with that?”

            “Nope,” Kelley whispered in reply. A second later Kelley scooted closed, snuggling into Hope’s side.

            Hope’s breath caught in surprise. “What are you doing?” she asked quietly.

            “It’s called cuddling. It’s what happens when you decide to sleep in the same bed as me,” Kelley responded against Hope’s shoulder.

            Hope shook her head and raised her arm, inviting Kelley in. “If you’re gonna do it, do it right,” she muttered as Kelley snuggled against her. Hope smiled as she closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth from Kelley next to her.

           


End file.
